


no longer human

by admeliora (suikapop)



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: M/M, SteveTony AU - Freeform, marvel AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-16 13:15:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29825490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suikapop/pseuds/admeliora
Summary: It's been a long time since Taeyong last saw Iron Man. He'd rescinded the right to call him Johnny when he left him behind eight years ago. But eight years of being lost and away from home mean nothing in the face of his feelings for Johnny.The Captain gets his homecoming beside Iron Man on the battlefield.
Relationships: Lee Taeyong/Suh Youngho | Johnny
Comments: 8
Kudos: 18





	no longer human

**Author's Note:**

> i don't really know what this is. i just wanted to see johnyong in a marvel au and we can't have marvel au in this house without stevetony. this is unbeta'd so any and all mistakes are on me.

Taeyong's position perfectly overlooks the expanse of the ruins of his former home.

The stench of death hangs in the air. He's covered almost entirely by soot and purple blood, wheezing and heaving in lungfuls of air one after another.

The clouds are overcast, blanketing the surrounding area in heavy darkness (although he's not even sure if what's blocking the sun are really clouds at this point), but Johnny is a lone bright spot. It's breathtaking to watch Johnny in his element again. His arc reactor glows bright and warm in the center of his chest, a proof of life amid the debris of destruction strewn behind them. Taeyong missed this. He has missed Johnny so much.

Helping Doyoung escape from authorities meant that he was going to willingly leave everything and everyone behind, including Johnny. At the time, he felt that he was left with no choice but to convince himself that he was at peace with his decision. He had to be.

Johnny was going to be okay, after all. He was strong, brave, and resilient in all the ways that Taeyong could only wish he was. But Taeyong didn't have much time to think and miss Johnny too much after what Haechan called their own civil war. It was right when they were thrust into a life of transience, constantly on the run from the Department of Defense's hound dogs. They couldn't even stay put in one place for more than half a day.

He never realized that the empty and hollow ache in his chest was mostly due to the pain of being away from home for far too long.

Taeyong's heart beats wildly in his chest, suddenly making it hard to breathe. He doesn't know if it's due to exertion of the fight or if his heart was just that happy that he was in close proximity to Johnny.

Fighting with Johnny is like muscle memory, anticipating each other's movements and moving perfectly in sync. They exchange tactics on the fly, complementing each others' fighting styles; where Johnny was concentrated on fire power and offense, Taeyong held the line on defense.

The nanobot helmet retracts from Johnny's helmet with a faint hiss, exposing his sweat-matted hair sticking elegantly to his forehead that it makes Taeyong's chest clench painfully. He willfully ignores it.

He's caught between marveling at the new technology on display before him and the mere sight of Johnny with an attractive flush riding high on his cheekbones. There are old battle scars on his face that are new to Taeyong.

There's a thundering roar that echoes in the air and something big crashes behind him, which Taeyong can only attribute to the Hulk. He stares at Johnny instead. He's always been intense in that quiet way of his during the idle minutes of these high-stake fights, his brain running a hundred kilometers a minute trying to think of the best possible course of action.

But Taeyong loves it even more when he starts taking charge and barks out orders instead.

Out of the corner of his eye, Spiderman swings down, landing gracefully on his feet. Taeyong blinks back to the present as he watches Spiderman walk towards Iron Man. There's a funny moment where Spiderman visibly notices his presence, and Taeyong sees him alternating between looking in Taeyong's direction then to Johnny, and then back to Taeyong again.

For a moment, Taeyong feels regret and shame that he never even got to learn the boy's name. He could see that in such a short time, the kid managed to endear himself so much to Johnny. Taeyong can't help but think it's adorable.

"Hey, Bugboy. Anybody ever tell you it's rude to stare?" Johnny says. Taeyong bites back a laugh.

The robotic bug eyes on Spiderman's helmet widen comically at having been caught. "I wasn't staring! I was looking back and forth at you and Cap!" he says, as if that makes all the difference. Taeyong notices that Spiderman loves to gesture grandly with his hands.

Spiderman puts a hand on his hip and Taeyong's heart clenches at seeing this kid act so much like his age in the middle of this entire mess he'd created. "And anyway, spiders aren't bugs. Miss Kang would give you shit for that and subject you to an hour's worth of lecture on the difference between insects, bugs and arachnids," he continues.

Johnny fights a smile but shrugs his iron-clad shoulder. "Ah, well. I bet Itsy-bitsy would love to talk my ear off, wouldn't she? I'd let her," he says. "Anyway, back to business, Spidergenius. I'll tell you all about it later if we get out of this alive. We really gotta get that gauntlet to Joohyun."

Spiderman tilts his head in confusion.

"That's Captain Marvel," Johnny answers. "Look for the lady that's glowing orange and photon blasting the bad guys with her fists. Give the gauntlet to her. She'll know what to do with it."

"That's a copy," says Spiderman, giving Johnny a sloppy salute and swinging out of sight.

Which leaves Taeyong with Johnny.

When Johnny finally turns to him, his breath catches in his throat. Taeyong had kind of hoped that Johnny might have forgotten he was there. He wouldn't have minded Johnny exchanging innocent banter like that with kids. He was clearly enjoying himself. As far as enjoyment could be had in the situation they were in.

"Cap. Care to share with us any strategies, or are you just going to stand there all day?" There's a smirk playing on his lips, but the corners of his eyes are a little tight. Taeyong fights the sharp pang of want to smooth it out with his lips and run his hands over Johnny's face to reassure himself that this is real. But he can't do that anymore.

_Focus, Lee Taeyong. There is still the mission._

Taeyong would really like to get out of this alive.

Maybe after all this, Johnny would let him apologize for all the pain and hurt he'd caused him. But that's even assuming way too much of him, considering where Taeyong currently stands in their relationship.

Taeyong pulls the strap on his shield tight across his arm, and looks up at Johnny.

"Do you trust me?"

Johnny's voice rings out in the air clear and lingering. "You know I do."

The Captain smiles, pained but sincere. "Then let's do this."

**Author's Note:**

> i am on [twitter](http://twitter.com/tyongblau), let's be friends? OnO


End file.
